More on San Francisco Symphony Personnel

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SFCV has a new report, from me, about changes at SFS. There's good news about hiring, and bad news about happenings in the horn section. Make sure to read Janos Gereben's reports on the possible renovation of Davies and on contract negotiations.

 

San Francisco Symphony Personnel Changes

Well, there's a ton going on; I have a number of appointments and a couple of departures to report on. Look for an article in SFCV a week from tomorrow with full details.

Mark Almond to Chicago Symphony Orchestra

A press release from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brings the news that San Francisco Symphony's associate principal horn, Mark Almond, is the new principal horn of the CSO.

We still don't know the results of the June auditions for SFS principal horn or who will be playing trial weeks. Keep your eyes open for the first few weeks of the season.

Generational Change

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The huge wave of retirements from San Francisco Symphony, both in the recent past and with known and possible upcoming retirements, reminds me that what we are seeing now is generational change at the orchestra. Most of the many departures over the last few years were of people who'd been in the orchestra for 25 or more years, with some of them having 40+ years in the orchestra. Principal horn Robert Ward is retiring at the end of the year; he joined the orchestra in 1980. A reader of this blog and I both noticed that SFS is holding auditions this fall for associate principal cello, a position that Peter Wyrick has held since 1999. What we're seeing now is the departures of musicians who were hired by Herbert Blomstedt and MTT, with just a few going back as far as Edo de Waart. It's also important to recall that up until 1980, when Davies opened, the same group of musicians acted as the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Musicians who were in the organization at the time decided which orchestra to play in, as I understand it.

There haven't been announcements from the Symphony about Ward and Wyrick yet; watch for something around the beginning of the season, which opens on September 22.

And keep in mind that something similar is going on across the street, where the Opera Orchestra has a number of openings. Additionally, when the next run of Der Ring des Nibelungen plays at the War Memorial Opera House, who do you think will be singing in it? Nina Stemme has retired the role of Brünnhilde, if I'm remember the program notes from her Cal Performances recital correctly. She and Iréne Theorin both turned 60 this year. I do not think that either Mark Delevan (age 64) or Greer Grimsley (age 67) will be back for Wotan a few years down the road.

Looking around a bit, there's intriguing casting in Europe for a couple of performances of Die Walküre conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, aka the music director of the Metropolitan Opera. Tamara Wilson as Brünnhilde, Solomon Howard as Hunding, Elza van den Heever as Sieglinde, Brian Mulligan as Wotan, Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Siegmund. I'm not sure I buy the latter, and this seems a little far out for Mulligan, but certainly this could be a way for the singers and conductor to try out these roles.

Other singers who might turn up in a Met or SFO Ring, in addition to those in YN-S's upcoming performances, include Christine Goerke, Amber Wagner, Marjorie Owens, Lise Davidsen (I mean....Davidsen is sure to be in the next Met Ring, it's just a question of which role she will be singing), former Adler Fellow Sarah Cambidge, Andreas Schager, Clay Hilley, Issachah Savage, and more.

San Francisco Symphony Appointments

 

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This past week, San Francisco Symphony announced two important appointments:

• Yubeen Kim, 26, will be the next principal flute of the orchestra, succeeding Tim Day, who retired at the end of 2020-21 after 14 years with the orchestra. Kim is currently the principal flute of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He has held that position since 2016 and won the position at age 19 (!). Kim joins the orchestra in January, 2024. His trial week was the Beethoven Eb program in June (Salonen/Levit); he has an extraordinarily beautiful sound, which you can hear at his web site.
• Katherine Siochi, 29, will be the next principal harp, succeeding Douglas Rioth, who retired at the end of December, 2021 after 40 years as a member of the orchestra. She has served as principal harp in several orchestras, most recently the Minnesota Orchestra.

Congratulations to both of these musicians! I am so looking forward to hearing them on a regular basis.

The full press release is after the jump and it's worth reading; Siochi's audition was a little unusual in that she did not have a trial week, but a private session with the orchestra.

San Francisco Symphony Contract

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Yesterday, San Francisco Classical Voice published an article that Janos Gereben and I co-wrote. It is one of the more important articles I've had any responsibility for, and it grew out of Janos's long history of reporting on labor relations at SFS and my dogged tracking of vacancies at San Francisco Symphony, here and elsewhere on this blog. 

To make an extremely long story (it ran 2600 words or so) as short as possible: the SFS musicians took a huge pay cut during the pandemic and have been working without a contract since last November; there are currently more than 20 vacancies in the orchestra, some apparently spurred by a combination of the pandemic and incentives to retire; all parties in the negotiations have been surprisingly quiet during the talks. There was a one low-key public outreach effort by the musicians: back in January, they handed out flyers in the Davies lobby before a concert, politely chatted up curious audience members, then, after intermission, held up their information flyers from the stage.

A few odd ends didn't make it into the story, but they might be relevant.

• The orchestra has alleged $40 million in losses. This tracks with the drop in the endowment from fiscal year ending August, 2021 to fiscal year ending August, 2022, and corresponds to a big drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the same period. The DJIA has gone up a lot in the last year, but the audited financials for FY ending August, 2023, won't be out until next year. It's possible that the endowment has recovered; it's possible that the $40 million comes from somewhere else.
• The late Robin Sutherland, principal keyboard for more than 45 years, retired in 2018. Five years later, his position has not been filled, although he occupied a named chair that is funded in perpetuity. I have to assume that this is a matter of priorities; Marc Shapiro and others have played piano and other keyboards very ably, but still.
• Freelance musicians subbing with the orchestra are paid the low end of the full-time contractual salary, but on a per-service basis, with some modifications for instrument doubling (flute and alto flute, for example) or playing in a principal position. 
• You might have seen a notorious classical music site linking to the article and using the phrase "XX musicians have left under Esa-Pekka Salonen," which is despicable phrasing, implying that somehow Salonen had something to do with this. It's the orchestra that negotiates musician contracts; it's the board that's responsible for making sure the money is there to pay the musicians appropriately; it's the board and orchestra that apparently offered some financial incentives to encourage retirements. Salonen, as I hope the article makes clear, has no responsibilities in these areas.

I also want to mention that the freelancers who've been playing in the orchestra are, by and large, terrific musicians. I wish, for their sake and that of the orchestra, that they were being hired on an annual basis rather than a per-service basis. Job stability is an all-around good thing.

 

All of the Openings at San Francisco Symphony, Filled or Not

 

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San Francisco Symphony has had an enormous number of openings for the last couple of years. Here's a list of all of the openings I've noted, including Robert Ward's upcoming retirement, and who filled those openings that have been filled:

1. Principal flute 
2. Associate principal flute 
3. Associate principal clarinet/Eb clarinet (was Louis Baez, now Matthew Griffith)
4. Clarinet 
5. Bassoon
6. Contrabassoon
7. Principal horn
8. Assistant Principal and Third Horn
9. Bass trombone
10. Section percussion
11. Associate concertmaster
12. Section violin (4) (two of the four filled by Katarzyna Bryla-Weiss and Leonid Plashinov-Johnson)
13. Section viola (3)
14. Principal cello (was Michael Grebanier, now Rainer Eudeikis)
15. Section cello (3)
16. Section bass (2)
17. Principal harp
18. Assistant principal librarian

That's a total of 26 openings since the beginning of 2020, of which it looks as though....four (4) have been filled. Not included in the above: I've seen no signs that they're planning to hire full-time replacements for Ragnar Bohlin, the former chorus director, or the late Robin Sutherland, principal keyboard. So maybe....there have been 28 openings.

It's possible that one of the principal flute finalists will be hired; there have also been auditions recently for associate concertmaster and principal horn, so we'll see what happens there. But this is very worrisome: SFS has not been hiring one-year substitutes, so there have been a lot of substitutes floating in and out on an as-needed basis. This reduces financial costs - you don't have to pay benefits or accrue pension credit when you're paying on a per-service basis - but there's a musical cost to such inconsistency. 

And, you know, how long will it take to fill the remaining openings? It's a complicated and time consuming process, and Esa-Pekka Salonen isn't in SF all the time. At the current rate, it is going to take years to fill the vacancies. MTT spent 25 years building this orchestra and making a lot of great hires; it is really sad to see the gaps and know that Salonen is having to do so much rebuilding.

Also, note Mr. CKDH's post at All is Yar, which implies that associate principal horn Mark Almond and principal viola Jonathan Vinocour are looking around. Could the lack of a contract have something to do with this? I bet it could, and I think it is shameful that the musicians have had to work since last November without a contract that at least starts to get them back to pre-pandemic salaries.

San Francisco Symphony: Retirements and Other Departures

 

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A press release from SFS updates the personnel list with several retirements and two additional departures.

Retired:

• Wayne Roden, viola, after 49 years in the orchestra
• Caroline McIntosh, cello, after 42 years
• Anne Pinsker, cello, after 41 years
• John Campbell, assistant librarian, after 32 years
• Bruce Roberts, assistant principal and third horn, after 35 years

Left for other reasons:

• Helen Kim, violin, is now the associate concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony
• Eliot Lev, violin, who is now a mental health professional. He was the first openly transgender member of a major U.S. orchestra. From his web site: I'm Eliot (he/him) a multicultural, sexually and gender-expansive mental health therapist dedicated to supporting diverse LGBTQ+ people through integrative, anti-oppressive and evidence-based mental health practices.
  

Flute Finalists?

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You might have noticed, over the last year or so, a number of flutists rotating through the San Francisco Symphony flute section. That's since principal flutist Tim Day and associate principal flutist Robin McKee retired. The first round of auditions supposedly resulted in an offer that was turned down. 

A second round of auditions took place this spring. There were several guest flutists recently, including the following:  

• Yubeen Kim, principal flutist of the Konzerthausorchester, Berlin, in the Beethoven concert
• Kayla Burggraf of the Kansas City Symphony, in the Busoni concert (she has been a substitute more than once this season)
• Blair Francis Paponiu, associate principal flute of the Naples Philharmonic (FL), in the last program (Julia Bullock and Daphis et Chloe)

I can't recall whether there was a guest flutist for Adriana Mater. Only flutists in concerts conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen would be playing trial weeks, so no flutists who appeared when he wasn't conducting are under consideration for the principal flute job. Best of luck to everyone who tried for the job; there are so many good players out there who are capable of filling the role!

 

Outgoing

 

Davies Symphony Hall

If you read my blog, or if you've been following the current contract negotiations, you know that SFS has many vacancies, in the winds, the brass, and the strings. I'll note as well that the late Principal Keyboard player Robin Sutherland has not been replaced and neither has former Chorus Master Ragnar Bohlin. I think that there are a couple of endowments supporting the principal keyboard position, but I need to ask; if so, they're restricted and that's what they're supposed to be used for.

The openings are being filled, slowly: Rainer Eudeikis is the new principal cello, and Matthew Griffith is the new associate principal and E-flat clarinet. The second round (!) of principal flute auditions is finishing up this month.

But there are two new auditions listed on the audition page:

• Principal horn, with auditions to be held in June and July. This would be Robert Ward's position.
• Second bassoon, with auditions to be held in April and June. 

I've got to assume that Ward is  retiring. He will be missed. (Previously mentioned: the associate concertmaster position from which Nadya Tichman stepped down at the beginning of the current season.)

NB: Steven Dibner is associate principal, not second bassoon. He is not retiring, which I know because I asked him.

Contract Negotiations at San Francisco Symphony

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Two recent stories stemming from the fact that SFS musicians are currently working without a contract.

• Janos Gereben, SFCV
• Joshua Kosman, SF Chroń

Update on Openings at San Francisco Symphony

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Well, last year's auditions for principal flute at SFS did not result in an appointment. The first two flute positions were filled over the season by Linda Lukas, Catherine Payne, and many guest artists, including Tim Day (former principal flute), Robin McKee (former associate principal flute), Sebastian Jacot, Denis Bouriakov, Érik Gratton, and others. 

There's another round of auditions taking place this season. Resume submission was completed on September 12, with auditions to be held in November and February.

There are also auditions for principal harp, all in October.

New Musicians at San Francisco Symphony

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Just yesterday, I was contemplating the large number of openings at San Francisco Symphony, which totaled 20, if you went as far back as Robin Sutherland's retirement four years ago. Today comes an announcement of four musicians joining the orchestra at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. From the press release (also, Joshua Kosman spoke with Rainer Eudeikis):

Rainer Eudeikis, Principal Cello  Philip S. Boone Chair

Rainer Eudeikis joins the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Cello with the 2022–23 season. He was previously principal cello of the Atlanta Symphony and Utah Symphony, as well as for the Mainly Mozart Festival and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.  Recent performances include Dmitri Shostakovich’s and Franz Joseph Haydn’s concertos with the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote with the Utah Symphony, and numerous solo, recital, and chamber music performances across the US and abroad. Recent performances include Dmitri Shostakovich’s and Franz Joseph Haydn’s concertos with the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote with the Utah Symphony, and numerous solo, recital, and chamber music performances across the US and abroad. Born in Texas, Mr. Eudeikis began cello studies at the age of six. Following studies in Colorado with Jurgen de Lemos, he attended the University of Michigan as a student of Richard Aaron, completing his Bachelor of Music in three years with highest honors. He received his Master of Music from Indiana University, where he studied with Eric Kim, and subsequently completed his Artist Diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. He has been invited to serve as artist-faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and Brevard Music Center, and is a dedicated teacher and coach.

Katarzyna Bryla-Weiss, viola Joanne E. Harrington & Lorry I. Lokey Second Century Chair Katarzyna Bryla-Weiss joins the San Francisco Symphony viola section beginning with the 2022–23 season. She was born into a family of musicians and has earned more than two dozen prizes and awards in the US, France, and her native Poland. In 2019 she became a co-principal violist of Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a member of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. She has also been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New York Pops. Ms. Bryla-Weiss was a soloist on a tour of China with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in 2010 and was a soloist for the Maazel/Vilar Conducting Competition in Kraków in 2001. She has performed in numerous festivals including Classical Tahoe, Napa Valley Music Festival, Central Vermont Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Bach Dancing and Dynamite, Singapore Sun Music Festival, and Las Palmas Music Festival. Her teachers include Christian Tetzlaff, David Cerutti, Herbert Greenberg, Honggang Li, Jadwiga Kaliszewska, and her father, Bartosz Bryla.

Leonid Plashinov-Johnson, viola Leonid Plashinov-Johnson joins the San Francisco Symphony viola section in the 2022–23 season. Previously a member of the Saint Louis Symphony, he is a laureate of multiple competitions, most recently the Primrose International Viola Competition and the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition. He has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the NEC Philharmonic, the Sofia Chamber Orchestra, and the AIMS Festival Orchestra. Previous engagements have included tours across Europe and Asia, as well as concerts with Jacob Collier, the Parker and Verona quartets, and the Covent Garden Soloists Ensemble. As a chamber musician, Mr. Plashinov-Johnson has participated in the Yellow Barn, Ravinia, and AIMS festivals. He graduated from New England Conservatory in 2019, studying with Kim Kashkashian and serving as her teaching assistant. Born in Russia, he began playing the violin at the age of three. After moving to the UK, he was awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where he studied the violin under Lutsia Ibragimova. After switching full time to viola, he studied with Andriy Viytovych (principal viola of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) until moving to the US. Matthew Griffith, Associate Principal & E-flat Clarinet  Matthew Griffith joins the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal & E-flat Clarinet with the 2022–23 season. He previously served as acting assistant principal clarinet with the North Carolina Symphony and the Nashville Symphony and was a member of TŌN (The Orchestra Now), a graduate-level training orchestra based at Bard College. Mr. Griffith has performed as guest soloist with the Boston Pops, Milwaukee Symphony, Ocean City Pops, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, United States Army Field Band, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. In 2014 Yale University published The Algorithm of Jazz, a video following his experience performing Artie Shaw’s concerto with the Yale Symphony Orchestra. After graduating from Yale University with distinction in both majors of music and computer science, Mr. Griffith earned graduate degrees in clarinet performance at the New England Conservatory. He was a Tanglewood Music Center fellow, where he was awarded the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize and returned as a New Fromm Player. His teachers included Michael Wayne, David Shifrin, Todd Levy, and Jill Hanes. He grew up in Sheboygan, WI, and enjoys writing computer code and designing videogames. Rainer Eudeikis succeeds the late Michael Grebanier; Matthew Griffith succeeds Luis Baez.

Changes, Bad Ones, at San Francisco Symphony

 

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Janos Gereben is on it at San Francisco Classical Voice. Briefly, there was some kind of a re-organization of communications, marketing, and digital innovation teams that resulted in the layoff of Oliver Theil and presumably others. The SFCV article doesn't discuss who else was involved, because SFS wouldn't discuss that. 

Theil has been with SFS since 1991 and has held multiple important posts in artistic planning, communications, and digital innovation. Letting him go means an immense loss of institutional memory and damage to the orchestra's current and future work in the digital area.

This statement from SFS, quoted at SFCV, is a doozy:

Changes were made last week to the structure of the Symphony’s administrative team. The marketing and communications departments were merged to better support the organization’s work in audience development and concert promotion. The in-house video department was dissolved in a strategic move towards working with independent contractors with specialized skill sets, catered to the bespoke needs of future digital projects. The changes were part of a strategic internal restructure and will not impact the audience experience or any of the organization’s public-facing programs.

I mean, the whole damn thing is in the passive voice. No clue as to who decided on these changes and a little reading between the lines is involved to figure out the why. Here's a possible translation:

SFS has made changes to our administrative staff. We merged two departments, which included laying off Oliver Theil. We think that this will improve certain areas. We also laid off people in the in-house video department. Instead, we're outsourcing this function, which will save money.

Of course, I'm guessing that other people were laid off, because SFS didn't provide additional details, and I have translated the corporate-speak into English as best I could. I think that organizations are best off when they say what's actually happening, as in "Because of the financial pressures of the last few years, we need to cut the budget. We have already cut musician salaries as much as we can, so we are trimming administrative personnel costs. The changes will result in savings of $someamount over the next three years."

Three more things: 

1. Keep an eye on the orchestra's administration page for changes. I saved a copy last night, so I can help with this! 

2. Former chief executive Mark Hanson's departure was announced on July 15, 2021 and his last day was August 31. I understand that there aren't that many people who are qualified to run a top-tier, high-budget American orchestra, but it's a surprise that it's taken this long to find someone. Hanson was appointed on a timely basis so that he could start exactly when Brent Assink left. It is a problem that this has taken so long.

3. The next chief executive's response to what has happened might be "This is an important part of being an orchestra in the 21st century. Why did you do this?" A candidate might even look at this and say "Wow, that was short-sighted. Why should I come to work for SFS?"

Goings-on at San Francisco Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall at Night

Regular readers and fans of San Francisco Symphony know that the orchestra has many openings, following a large number of retirements and the death of principal cellist Michael Grebanier. (The list in my link doesn't include the recently retired principal harp Douglas Rioth and associate concertmaster Nadya Tichman's decision to step down from that post.) SFS has conducted auditions for several of the openings (principal flute, principal cello) and recently it has looked as though candidates are getting trial weeks. We've seen the following players in the orchestra recently:

• Erik Gratton, principal flute of the Nashville Symphony, in the Creatures of Prometheus concert and the program with the Bryce Dessner violin concerto on it.
• Denis Bouriakov, principal flute of the LA Philharmonic, program with Song of the Flaming Phoenix
•  Sébastian Jacot, principal flute of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, in the Ogonek/Stravinsky program. He's the guy with the wooden flute, a novelty in a US orchestra
• Austin Huntington, principal cellist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (Liszt/Scriabin)
• Rainer Eudeikis, principal cello of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Creatures of Prometheus)

If you've missed SFS principal trumpet Mark Inouye, he has been on leave but expect to be back soon.

 

Personnel Changes at San Francisco Symphony

 

Davies Symphony Hall

Wow; a couple more big changes coming to San Francisco Symphony, with principal harpist Douglas Rioth and associate concertmaster Nadya Tichman stepping down, differently, from their respective posts. Here's the press release:

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES TWO CHANGES TO ORCHESTRA ROSTER 



Principal Harp Douglas Rioth retires at end of 2021 calendar year

Associate Concertmaster Nadya Tichman continues her tenure with the San Francisco Symphony as revolving member of the 1st Violin section beginning in 2022–23 season

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony announces two upcoming changes to its orchestra roster. After forty years as Principal Harp of the San Francisco Symphony, Douglas Rioth will retire effective December 31, 2021. After thirty-one seasons as Associate Concertmaster, Nadya Tichman has decided to continue her tenure with San Francisco Symphony as a revolving member of the 1st Violin section beginning with the 2022–23 season.

Douglas Rioth joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Harp in 1981. Born in Missouri, he studied with Alice Chalifoux and Elisa Smith Dickon, attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and Cleveland Institute of Music, and studied at the Berkshire Music Center. Previously principal harp of the Indianapolis Symphony, Rioth was also a regular participant in the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony. Harp instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he also serves on the coaching team for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Learn more about Douglas Rioth.

Nadya Tichman, Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, occupying the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Chair, joined the Orchestra in 1980. She served as acting Concertmaster from 1998 to 2001. Born in New York, she studied at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. Tichman has played Chamber Music at the Grand Teton and Olympic Music Festivals and with the Gualala Arts Festival and Music in the Vineyards. A champion of contemporary music, she has had pieces dedicated to her by composers Peter Schickele, Jim Lahti, and Allen Shearer. Tichman has appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony on many occasions. Learn more about Nadya Tichman.

I don't really remember a time when these two weren't in their respective jobs and I have greatly enjoyed, admired, and respected their playing. I certainly understand deciding that it is time to stop, for many reasons, or to say that you'd like less responsibility. And it's part of the natural evolution of an orchestra for there to be personnel changes.

So, thanks to Rioth and Tichman for their many many contributions to SFS over the years, and best wishes for the future.

Openings at San Francisco Symphony

Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

You might recall that San Francisco Symphony had an unusual number of retirements last season and this, for reasons that surely include existing plans, the pandemic, and - who knows? - a new music director coming in. In addition, principal cellist Michael Grebanier died at 82 after a period of ill health. (See the links below for my previous comments on this.)

If you want to follow along with the audition process, the organization's audition page is public and always contains interesting information; I once tipped off a couple of people about a not-yet-announced retirement because I spotted a planned audition. The page is here. As you can see, the preliminary and semi-final rounds of the principal flute and principal cello auditions have been held, with the final rounds coming soon. 

Watch for guest artists in those chairs, because typically the final candidates get a week of playing with the orchestra to see how they work with Salonen, members of their section, the concertmaster, etc. And how they sound with the orchestra. (Noting that there have been guests in the first flute chair at the last two concerts - I believe different flutists - but I do not know whether they are regular guests or auditioning. Ya gotta have flutes in the flute section, after all. But I did not see anyone unfamiliar playing first cello, because Peter Wyrick and Amos Yang are both fully able to fill that seat.)

Previously:

• Retirements, Many of Them, at San Francisco Symphony
  
• Further Thoughts on SFS Retirements
  

 

Mark Hanson Leaving SFS

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Oh, now, this is a big shock:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—On behalf of the San Francisco Symphony, President Priscilla B. Geeslin announced today that the Board of Governors has accepted Mark C. Hanson’s resignation from his position as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 31, 2021. 

Mark Hanson stated, “The San Francisco Symphony is a dynamic organization, and it has been a true honor to lead them through complex transitions and challenges. With the San Francisco Symphony now back up and performing as a full ensemble for live audiences following our successful pandemic pivots, I have decided that this is the right time to pursue my next professional opportunity within a different environment. I am proud of what we have been able to achieve over the past four years: from implementing a multi-year financial plan that put the organization on a path to restoring stability and establishing a multi-constituency Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workgroup; to successfully celebrating the conclusion of Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas’ tenure, and more recently engaging new Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen.” 

San Francisco Symphony President Priscilla Geeslin said, “The Board fully understands Mark’s decision and thanks him for his steadfast work with appreciation for the experience, commitment, and passion with which he led the San Francisco Symphony over the past four years. We wish him all the best as he moves on.” 

To ensure continuity moving forward, Matthew Spivey has been appointed Interim CEO. Spivey is currently Chief Programming Officer of the San Francisco Symphony and has been with the organization for five years.

Here's a CEO who didn't have labor problems, made the most unexpected and fabulous music director hire, and kept the orchestra moving through the pandemic. I'm really flabbergasted. I mean, I sincerely hope that there isn't Bad Stuff we don't know about behind this change. (Update: I would like to note that if there were Bad Stuff, it's probable that he would have been fired and walked out of Davies immediately.)

Updated: Looks as though Joshua Kosman had an hour's lead on this, that is, not much more than the rest of us.

Further Thoughts on SFS Retirements

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

We know from the number of retirements this season and coming up that San Francisco Symphony will ultimately be looking for the following:

1. Principal flute
2. Associate principal flute
3. Associate principal clarinet/Eb clarinet
4. Clarinet
5. Bassoon
6. Bass trombone
7. Section percussion
8. Section violin (3)
9. Section viola (2)
10. Principal cello
11. Section cello
12. Section bass (2)

That's....sixteen (16) players, including two principals. There's no way that the orchestra can hold auditions in one season for replacing them all, so they'll be setting priorities. 

I would guess that principal cello and principal flute are the first jobs that will be filled by audition, because those players are the leaders of their sections and because there were auditions, now canceled, scheduled for those positions. But there will still have to be players sitting in those chairs on opening night.

The cello spot will be in the good hands of associate principal Peter Wyrick, who has filled it in the past during Michael Grebanier's absences, and when Wyrick isn't available, assistant principal Amos Yang will fill the seat. They are both excellent players and give Esa-Pekka Salonen room to find just the right principal cello.

The associate principal flute, Robin McKee, won't be stepping into the principal chair, held by Tim Day, because she is also retiring. It's possible that Day and McKee will postpone their retirements*; the announced timing suggested that they wanted to be part of Salonen's first season as music director. If they do retire, I am doubtful that both Linda Lukas and Carolyn Payne (piccolo and fourth flute) would move up temporarily.

Over in the clarinets, the middle of the section is retiring. These are Luis Baez and David Neuman. Here It's possible that Jerome Simas will move up in that section, and he might decide to audition for one of the open seats.

I can't really speak to the open bassoon and trombone seats; I don't know those sections as well as I know the other wind sections.

In any event, on opening night, there need to be players in these seats. Here are the options:

1. Fill seats with current SFS players (see above for some possibilities).

2. Fill seats with freelancers, local or otherwise. For example, oboist Chris Gaudi was in the orchestra for several years because of Jonathan Fisher's extended departure and William Bennett's death.

3. Fill seats with guest artists who are on leave from other orchestras.

I wonder whether there are cases where a replacement player, as in cases 2 and 3 above, wound up being hired into an orchestra permanently. Presumably, they'd have to go through the audition process, but there's nothing like seeing someone in a particular position to know how they will function there.**

Something we don't know is whether other top-tier US orchestras will have a similar number of retirements; I haven't seen a personnel announcement for the SF Opera orchestra, for example, although we do know that co-principal French horn Mark Almond has been named associate principal French horn of SFS. We also know that SFS principal clarinet Carey Bell was principal at SFO before crossing the street, so I would expect some audition participants to come from the opera orchestra. SFS has a longer season and plays a much more varied repertory than SFO's orchestra, with higher pay, so there are attractions.

* Day and McKee are married, so it's not a surprise that they'd retire together. They were also formerly principal and associate principal flutes at the Baltimore Symphony.

** I work for a company where you can be a temporary employee, do a great job, and still not get hired permanently for arbitrary reasons, even though you're obviously a good fit and extremely capable.

Retirements, Many of Them, at San Francisco Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

It's typical of San Francisco Symphony to announce retirements at the beginning of a new season or end of an old season. We're somewhere in the middle of a barely-existent season right now, and this morning I received a list of players who have retired this season. These are in addition to the previously-announced retirements of Tim Day (principal flute) and Robin McKee (associate principal flute)*, that is, half the flute section, and of course the death last year of principal cello Michael Grebanier. It's...a long list, which I think is not really surprising given what the last year has been like and given what it takes to maintain your playing at a high level.

• Associate Principal & E-flat Clarinet Luis Baez (30 years of service) 
• Violin Paul Brancato (41 years of service)  
• Viola Nancy Ellis (46 years of service)  
• Bass Trombone John Engelkes (39 years of service) 
• Violin Sharon Grebanier (48 years of service) 
• Clarinet David Neuman (34 years of service)  
• Violin Diane Nicholeris (36 years of service)  
• Bass William Ritchen (37 years of service)  
• Viola John Schoening (46 years of service)  
• Cello Margaret Tait (45 years of service) 
• Bassoon Rob Weir (28 years of service) 

Holy single reeds, Batman: that's half the clarinet section leaving. Principal clarinet Carey Bell and clarinet / alto clarinet / bass clarinet Jerome Simas remain.

Esa-Pekka Salonen will be spending about half his first season auditioning new musicians. 

* Re Day and McKee, SFS announced last February that they planned to retire at the end of the 2020-21 season. I am looking at the email right now, and I blogged about this when I received the email.